Protectors Of The Young
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: Plot bunny based heavily upon the TF Bunny farm on Livejournal by Sanjuno. What if Seekers were programmed to protect sparklings above all else? What would happen if they found sparklings in the midst of a battle or mission?
1. Chapter 1

Protectors Of The Young.

Summary: Plot bunny based heavily upon the TF Bunny farm on Livejournal by Sanjuno. What if Seekers were programmed to protect sparklings above all else? What would happen if they found sparklings in the midst of a battle or mission?

Rating: Probably T, but M for safety.

Disclaimer: All hail Michael Bay and Paramount who brought us the Transformers 07 movie, itself begat by G1. (In other words, it ain't mine.)

Protectors Of the Young.

Prologue.

They had known it had to happen one day, they had known the Autobots would make a mistake, or let their guard down, or just get unlucky.

For seven long years the Decepticons had tried at various times to storm, sneak in, and remote-spy on the Autobot Base, but the thick walls with anti-warp fields and sensor scrambling technology, door-mounted optic scans, vocal recognition, and security software that seemed immune even to Frenzy's skills, had confounded them at every attempt. Twice they had come close, only to be thwarted by being discovered, once by internal scans and once by being unlucky enough to be seen. The speed and manner with which they had been removed suggested just one thing: there was something in that Base the Autobots didn't want the Decepticons to see.

It was the Command Trine who were relieving the boredom of their useless surveillance of the Base by riding the storm winds who were fortuitous enough to see lightning strike a nearby pylon. It was Starscream and Skywarp who realised the potential significance when the lights in the Autobot Base flickered and died. It was Skywarp who took the risk of trying to warp inside the building before the Autobot's emergency generator started up.

Skywarp's risk was a calculated one, and it paid off. For a few seconds between the main power failing and the emergency generator coming online, the anti-warp field faltered and died. It was only for five seconds, but that was enough time for Skywarp to get inside. Once inside he could warp within the base wherever he pleased. He warped to the security office, startling Red Alert so fast that he didn't even get a chance to call the alarm before Skywarp hit him on heavy stun. Skywarp was no computer scientist, but had learned enough to alter the Autobot Base's sensors to be blind to the presence of three extra Sparks. Then he warped to the Base entrance, and peered out of the door. Taking careful aim, he stunned Ironhide, using two blasts to be certain, and watched the big mech collapse, having never seen what had hit him, with a certain satisfaction. Skywarp ran over to the gatehouse and scanned the controls, noting with satisfaction that not only were they simple switches, but that each switch was labelled with its function.

He switched off all the security cameras, turned off the system failure alarms, and then he turned off, one by one, all the security features. He activated his comm system, calling to Starscream and Thundercracker, who were still circling above.

'**Come on down, you are clear for landing, repeat, green, you are cleared for landing,'** he chuckled, and then, in an attempt to avoid detection for as long as possible, warped to a random location within the Autobot base, a room on a map labelled as empty that he had located earlier.

Starscream and Thundercracker circled down, and landed in the courtyard silently, running for the Base entrance, and running quietly down the corridors. When the corridor bifurcated, Starscream took one offshoot and Thundercracker the other, both slightly puzzled that they had not been contacted by Skywarp to arrange to meet up and plan a course of action.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

There was a reason for this, a very good reason. The supposedly 'empty' room that Skywarp had warped to was very definitely _not_ empty. It was full, full of berths, adult berths. These were not at all unusual, in fact they were standard, unremarkable plastic pallets, but the way they were divided up, and what lay within the divisions, was very definitely _not_ standard. Skywarp now knew what the Autobots had been so desperate to hide.

Little servos whined as small forms turned, and set upon set of tiny blue optics unshuttered to regard him with a wide, curious, and innocent gaze. As the sparklings all became aware of his presence, they clicked and whirred in curiosity, some raising claws or hands towards him.

Skywarp had been told, long ago, about the unalterable and unbypassable circuitry and programming built in to all Seekers that, due to the need for its activation being rarely encountered, was almost never triggered into activity. He had almost forgotten about it as the war proceeded and spread across the galaxy. However, at the sight of all of those defenceless, unprotected sparklings, the buried programming deep within his processors kicked in.

Starscream and Thundercracker were unimportant right now. The war and the reasons for it were pushed to the back of his processors. The antipathy he was supposed to feel towards any and all Autobots was forgotten as the ancient but inviolable programming pushed to the fore.

Skywarp, heedless of all else except the sparklings, dropped to a crouch. Extending his arms invitingly, he began to emit a calming, melodic, cooing sound.


	2. Chapter 2

Protectors Of the Young.

Chapter One.

Mirage wasn't on his guard, didn't think he'd need to be in his own base, so when he heard quiet steps behind him, he was unconcerned. So he never knew what hit him when Thundercracker stunned him and caught him as he fell. Thundercracker located the spy's manual disrupter activation button, and arranged the unconscious mech in a position where he could both reach the button and hold the spy firmly. He moved off, and hit the disrupter as he heard voices ahead. The spy's disrupter field enclosed the Seeker too, and they both shimmered out of view.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It was Cliffjumper who found Red Alert slumped on the floor of the security office, worked out that he had been stunned, and set off the alarms. Or tried to: the alarms did not activate. It was then that Cliffjumper, arming his cannon in case of trouble, rushed out to check on Ironhide, found him in much the same condition, and checked the console. He saw all the alarms and fields and other features had been turned off, and brought them back online, comming Ratchet and First Aid, one to help Red Alert and the other to come and see to Ironhide. It was First Aid who got outside first, and Cliffjumper waved him over, assuming Ratchet would be seeing to Red Alert.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ratchet headed out, grumbling, two recharging sparklings cradled in his arms. He'd need to find somewhere safe to put these before he attended the stunned Red Alert, and the main nursery was too far away to go to. There was a small auxiliary room, where some of the older and more boisterous sparklings sometimes played that would be safe enough nearby. He slipped in, dodging the four sparklings running and bouncing about inside, and placed the recumbent pair in the shielded off recharge booth, then slipped back out and went on his way, unaware that his progress had been tracked by an intent pair of red optics.

As the medic turned the corner, the door to the room opened, seemingly of it's own accord. The sparklings looked up, saw nobody, so went back to their games. When the clicking and chirping started, interspersed by coos, they looked around for the source in confusion. They stared in curiosity as Thundercracker shimmered back into existence, crouched down, lay the unconscious Mirage aside like a piece of discarded armour, and stretched out his arms towards them.

"Who wants a cuddle?" he asked.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It was Starscream who inadvertently wandered into the medical bay just after Ratchet had left, so it was he who heard the cry of one of the new sparklings that woke up hungry and cold. His head came up and he swivelled his head around, chirping encouragingly. As its cries changed to hopeful, he triangulated the location by moving around, then homed in on the quartet of sparkling-berths, three of which were occupied. He reached down with a croon, gathering the small pliant form into his hands. It turned over and mouthed at a finger, crying stridently.

"You're needing a feed, aren't you?" he said, moving around the medbay purposely. "Where does that medic keep the sparkling-grade?" He spotted the storage cupboard marked 'Sparkling formula', and moved over. He crowed in triumph as he spotted the spherical feeding vessels lining one of the shelves. Picking it out, he checked it, and then broke the seal that functioned both to keep it from leaking or souring, and activated an in-vessel warming strip. Shaking it to mix the contents, he then shifted the sparkling now cradled in one arm so he could engage the pressure-operated valve with the sparklings mouth. Its cries ceased as it settled down to feeding.

Wandering back over to the berths, Starscream found somewhere to sit as the little one finished its feed. Once it had had enough, he checked the side-valve on the tank, opening it a smidgeon and tapping it to get air-bubbles out. Then he hummed and held it against his body to get it back to sleep, before carefully placing it back on its berth. He was loath to leave but, he recalled, this was their best chance to gain information.

As he turned to leave, another piercing cry split the air, and he turned. Another sparkling had woken up, another one wanted feeding, and he sighed, turning to it, picking it up and moving to the cupboard with the formula in it.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It had been easy to dismantle the dividing barriers, they were designed to be transportable and collapsible, and once he had removed them, Skywarp had sprawled out on the berths, gathering armfuls of sparklings to himself. Two had wriggled into his cockpit and gone back into recharge, their happy purrs vibrating through his fuselage, and the others were by his side or on top of him. He was almost overwhelmed with sparklings, and Skywarp was in utter bliss.

The multitude of warm purring chassis on and around him relaxed Skywarp so much that he slid into recharge himself, almost invisible beneath the bodies draped over and snuggled up to his own.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Mirage roused to the sounds of squealing, but even in his half-stunned condition he could tell that the squeals were of happiness rather than of terror.

Recalling that he had been stunned by assailant or assailants unknown, Mirage kept his body limp, only moving the shutter of one optic enough so that he could see his surroundings and find out as much information as he could. What he saw caused both optics to unshutter and dilate in disbelief.

There was Thundercracker with one of the older Sparklings clinging to his back, and the other three standing in front of him. He stooped to pick up one of them, threw them high into the air, and then caught them as they screamed and giggled happily. Then he put that one down, repeating the process with one of the others.

Mirage decided to take a risk, carefully picking himself up. His instinct had been correct: Thundercracker was so focused on the sparklings that he didn't even notice. Mirage waited till Thundercracker was turning to one of the others before he moved, activating his disruptor and slipping out of the door unnoticed.

A few moments later, he was running at full pelt down the corridor to the control room.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As the last of the three little sparklings finished its formula, Starscream let air out of its valve, and laid it tenderly down, pressing his hand to its hide comfortingly. With an engine purr that ran through its whole body, it fell into recharge. Starscream lifted his hand, and with a last, longing look back at the little ones, turned away regretfully. They weren't in danger at such, so his instincts were not too strong to resist, he could walk away, which he did, turning resolutely down the corridor. He still had information to gather and work to do. The sparklings were happy now, so they would have to wait.

Five minutes later Ratchet turned into the medical bay with Red Alert cradled in his arms. He stretched him on a berth and checked he was beginning to reboot, then turned to look at the sparklings. It was about time for their next feed and was surprised that they hadn't been awake when he had returned.

He looked at them and saw they all appeared to still be deep in recharge. Then he saw the three empty formula bottles still stood on the side and blinked. A quick scan confirmed his suspicions: all three had been fed. Picking up one of the empties, Ratchet scowled at it. The sparklings had not been fretful or awake because somebody had already seen to their fuel needs. Sparklings weren't too fussy, they'd take their fuel from anyone with a comfortable arm, a warm Spark, and a friendly face. The question Ratchet was asking himself was who had done so and why hadn't they commed him to say so? Maybe Red Alert might throw some sort of light on the situation when he came back online?

With a frown, Ratchet turned back to the security officer and began working.


	3. Chapter 3

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Two.

A/N: 1 joor=6.5 hours.

"Gatehouse to Main control, this is Cliffjumper. Please respond."

Optimus turned to the main screen as he heard the young scout's agitated voice and opened the communication line back.

"Control here, Optimus responding, what is it Cliffjumper? I thought Ironhide was on gate duty for the next two joors."

"He is, but I came out here and found him lying on the ground. First Aid says he's been stunned. I found Red Alert in a similar state, I think Ratchet is seeing to him but it could be for the same reason. Sir, all the alarms and stuff have been turned off, so I think you should know we have an intruder, possibly more than one."

"It's Thundercracker!" came a voice. Optimus turned to see Mirage come into the room, having obviously been running. "Thundercracker stunned me but I roused and managed to slip away while he was playing with the older sparklings."

"The sparklings?" Optimus cried, turning and running for the door, Prowl and Hound not far behind him. Mirage heard an alarm com go out to the rest of the Base occupants, orders to check all the sparklings.

"Wait!" Mirage said, but found himself speaking to empty air. Cursing, he turned and gave chase.

On the other end of the intercom, Cliffjumper heard everything. He had reset all the alarms and shields, and activated them, then set out for the main Base, as First Aid continued work on rousing the currently- inert form of Ironhide.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Skywarp was jerked out of his recharge by the wailing of the sirens. He cried out, much in the way many of the sparklings did, but where his cry was quickly stilled, that of the sparklings intensified as the loud and unfamiliar tones of the alarm continued. They whirred in distress, crying out in fear and confusion. Skywarp knew he should try to escape, realised the entry of himself and his wing-brothers must have been discovered, but another part of him, the programming stronger for its protracted non-activation, told him to find a way to shut off the noise and calm the small ones now huddled against him in distress.

He pulled up from memory the map of the base and warped to the gate house - he would only have issue with the anti-warp field if he tried to warp _through_ it - and stunned the medic working on the Weapons Specialist. Stepping over their sprawled bodies, he reached the control panel and found the switch for the alarms, switching it off and then snapping it off so they could not be switched back on. Then he warped back to the room he had been in, and gathered the sparklings in his arms, clicking and cooing at them to soothe them, bestowing pats and strokes to small backs and heads and limbs, bending his head to nuzzle the helms of the closest.

He was so occupied with this that he did not notice the door open, did not notice the figures that appeared in it. It was the sound of weapons powering up that jerked his attention to the cluster of six brightly-coloured femmes stood in the doorway, weapons pointing his way.

"Stand up slowly and move away from them, Seeker." Chromia said.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream heard the alarms go off, and he reversed course and headed for the exit of the Base.

Escape was the second most thought on his mind, would have been the highest thought except for one thing.

Alarms usually functioned as a warning or an alert, usually associated with danger. The sound of the alarms, coupled with the knowledge that there were sparklings on the Base, fully activated Starscream's protection-programming, and he was first going to make sure the sparklings were safe.

He barrelled into the medbay, startling Ratchet and Red Alert, who had just recovered. Ratchet blinked as he saw Starscream head towards the sparklings, his body tense as he kept one blaster trained on the medic. Something stirred in his memory about Seekers and their reaction to sparklings, Ratchet himself recalled having had a Seeker companion-guardian in his own younglinghood.

At that moment the alarms suddenly cut out: Starscream blinked in confusion, and Ratchet took full advantage of the momentary distraction, moving over to catch up one of the sparklings, who were all squalling at the noise.

Starscream's blaster wavered as he realised it was pointed at the sparkling Ratchet had picked up, then moved up to point at Ratchet's head. Ratchet carefully held out the sparkling to Starscream.

"Shall we get these three calmed down? The noise frightened them, but a few cuddles should reassure them."

The blaster was removed as Starscream registered that Ratchet was not only not a threat, but was holding a sparkling out to him. He didn't hesitate, scooping it into his arms and purring as he held it against him, shifting position only to make space for the second Sparkling that Ratchet offered. Ratchet himself concentrated on the third, the cries subsiding to distressed whirrs which in turn subsided as the two adults calmed them with soft words and engine purrs.

Ratchet send a quiet but urgent com to the rest of the 'bots as he watched Starscream.

'_Starscream is here, where he is his wingbrothers are likely to be. If found, do not, repeat do NOT power up weapons or engage in combat if they are in the presence of sparklings. Repeat: do nothing they might perceive as presenting danger to the sparklings!'_

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Optimus, Hound and Prowl received Ratchet's com as they reached the door of the playroom. They looked at each other in confusion, but the urgent tone of the com meant they were not about to argue with him: they powered down and put away their weapons, and then Prowl opened the door as Mirage caught up with them.

They slowly entered, one by one, and stared at the sight that greeted them.

Thundercracker was lying on his back on the floor as two sparklings sat astride him, bouncing up and down on his canopy and giggling. One of the others was carefully examining one of his hands, bending and flexing the digits in turn, while the fourth was lying on his thigh, deep in recharge.

The Seeker himself, his optics fully shuttered, wore an expression of pure bliss on his face.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Skywarp didn't register Chromia's words, he only registered the sight of weapons pointed in his - and consequently the clustered sparklings' - direction. As Ratchet's com came in, Chromia and the others were startled by it, by the unexpected urgent tone, their concentration broken. The protection-programming kicked in fully, and, taking advantage of their brief distraction, he sprang from his crouched position. They were unprepared for this, both for his move and the speed of his actions.

He disappeared mid-spring, popping back into existence close enough to use one hand to lash out, the fiungers hooked into claws, scattering the other femmes, while the other caught hold of Chromia's weapon and threw it aside. The hand he had used to scatter the others swept back down to fasten around Chromia's neck as the other returned to ram hard against her chest, thrusting her harder against the unyielding kneesshifted to in her legs to the floor, and both his hands were pressed to the hide hard enough to dent the metal they were holding. Chromia tried to pry them off with her own hands but stopped, crying out in pain as Skywarp gave the hand on her neck a vicious, threatening twist.

"Power down your weapons, and get away from here." he growled, his voice hard and menacing. "Leave the room, slowly, and one at a time. If you disobey me, or continue to threaten the sparklings, she will die."


	4. Chapter 4

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Three.

A/N: Astrosecond=second, 1 vorn=83 human years.

"Power down everybody, and do as he says." Elita ordered, comming Ratchet to tell him what had happened. As they did so and slowly backed out, arms and hands spread to show they were unarmed, Ratchet commed back telling them to do just that.

Chromia received a different comm.

'_Chromia, stop struggling, while you struggle you are perceived as a greater threat. Go limp, relax your body, and then repeat to Skywarp what I say to you next.'_

Once the other femmes had exited, Skywarp looked down at the suddenly limp femme. While she had still been struggling, his plans had been to kill or disable her, but now he was less sure that would be necessary. As he looked at her, she spoke, repeating Ratchet's commed statement word-for-word.

"Seeker Skywarp, I charge you with the protection of these sparklings, both my own and those with them. If you accept the position of Protector of the young, then we will seal our bond by mixing your energon with mine."

Skywarp blinked - he had not expected Chromia to formally offer him the position of the sparklings' defender, a binding agreement if he accepted, but he immediately nodded, the formal wording identifying Chromia as one who was asking him to protect them, thus not a threat. He removed the hand on her chest and lifted his wrist to his mouth, using his dentaplating to nick a minor energon line. Chromia mimicked his actions, and as her own energon welled up from the bite, lifted her arm to show him.

The Seeker paused for a moment, and for a nasty astrosecond Chromia though he intended to change his mind, but then he brought his own leaking wrist down and held it to hers.

"Call two of your friends in to witness." he instructed her. Chromia called Arcee and Elita in via comm, explaining why she needed them. The two femmes entered warily, still with arms and hands spread to show no threat.

"This femme has called on me to be guardian to these sparklings, you are here to witness that I accept this duty and seal it by energon-bond, the accepted and binding method of agreement."

"Witnessed." the two replied, as all five femmes had been appraised by Ratchet in brief what was happening, and told what to say if they were chosen as the two traditional witnesses.

Skywarp slid off Chromia and crouched, twisting his hand so he could take hers, and before she could protest, stood, drawing her up with him. Her mouth, which had opened in alarm, closed as she realised his intention was only to help her up from the floor.

"Thank you." she said after just a moment's hesitation, but he had released her hand and was moving to soothe the sparklings, many of whom had responded to the tense atmosphere in the room and began to cry in distress. Chromia raised her hands in a 'whatever!' gesture she had learned from watching humans, and moved to assist.

Elita stood and watched for a moment, before heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Arcee as Elita continued walking past the rest of the femmes, her stride determined and her optics steely.

"To the medbay. Ratchet has convinced Chromia to hand over the protection of our sparklings to a _Decepticon_. It's stopped Skywarp from killing her, but I'm not particularly happy with the situation. Ratchet owes me an explanation, and I _won't_ leave his medbay until I have it."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Once Chromia had commed him that Skywarp had accepted the position, Ratchet could turn his full attention back to Starscream, as Prowl had assured Ratchet by com that the group he was with would do nothing to antagonise Thundercracker.

Starscream was still purring his engine as he held the sparklings, but was discreetly twisted in such a way that one arm blaster was pointed towards Red Alert, who was keeping very still, but was looking increasingly twitchy.

"It's okay, Red, there's no safer place for those sparklings than in Starscream's arms, believe me," Ratchet tried to explain to the nervous Security Chief. "The oldest records we still have suggest that the first Seekers were originally created as protectors of the young, to keep them safe from alien races, and glitched members of our own."

He looked at Starscream, who was also listening.

"Starscream, Red Alert would sooner puncture his own Spark-chamber than harm _any_ of these sparklings, particularly as the one in your left arm is his own, his and Elita's." he said. Starscream looked again at Red Alert, and to the Security Chief's surprise, inclined his head in a bow even as he twisted back to point the blaster muzzle away from him.

"Seekers, of course, were soon found to be invaluable in other roles," Ratchet continued explaining as the two adults listened intently. "New programming was added to and integrated with and sometimes overlaid the protection-programming, to enable them in other professions, including military work, but the methods used to create and install the protection-programming are lost to us, thus are any ways of uninstalling or deleting it. _All_ Seekers have it, including those created by the AllSpark, suggesting the sparkling-protect software is hardwired into the Seeker design. It generally would not be activated if sparklings were not present, technically a Seeker could be sparked, live a full lifespan, and go permanently offline without it ever being activated, thus not even know they possess it. Few outside the medical profession know of it, and as the older mechs and femmes are destroyed by this war, any knowledge outside of that field is dwindling rapidly."

He frowned briefly. "I, as Bumblebee and Mirage seem over-fond of reminding me, am amongst the three oldest mechs here. I had a Seeker-guardian as a youngling myself, so I know about it from both a professional _and_ a personal viewpoint."

Ratchet paused for the other's processors to catch up before summing up.

"The protection programming will override any other programming present should sparklings be around, hence why Megatron took pains to keep Seekers away from areas or situations where Sparklings might be present. Of course, Megatron decided there was only one way to _guarantee _that things stay that way." Ratchet's voice was grim.

"He - killed them." Red Alert confirmed sadly.

Starscream was shaken by the news, staggering back to sit down on a workbench.

"There were rumours, whisperings amongst the lower ranks, of Sparkling massacres. They were always put down to Autobot propaganda, or Autobot atrocities. It does seem strange, however, that despite Megatron's promise that sparklings would be shipped to a refuge planet, we have never found it, nor found sparklings until now, in the vorns and vorns the war has been raging."

"Well, I guess that answers _my_ question, as to why we've effectively given Skywarp a job." Elita spoke from the doorway. "I heard most of what you said, Ratchet, and in light of that, your decision makes sense. Skywarp is the best guardian our sparklings can have."

Starscream's head snapped around to look at her.

"Skywarp has been given formal Protector-duty?"

"Yes." she said, stiffening, expecting to hear the worst, that Skywarp was glitched or somehow immune, and preparing to betray the energon-bond they had sealed the deal with, but his reaction took her by surprise.

Starscream handed Red Alert's sparkling to him before he lifted his own wrist to bite an energon line and held the dripping limb out to her. "Please, let me join him in that duty?" he said, looking at her with wide, pleading optics.

"_What?" _she asked in astonishment. "I thought you _had_ what you wanted, the Decepticon leadership."

"That is unimportant. My place is here. My wing-brothers' places are _here_, doing what we were designed to do. _Please_?" he asked.

Still unsure, she looked at Ratchet for his opinion.

"The protection programming will override _any_ other programming present should sparklings be around," he reiterated. "The Decepticon leadership is as _nothing _compared to the code-bound duty to protect sparklings that may need it, especially if Barricade or Soundwave attempt a coup, which our intelligence suggests one of them might."

"Barricade or Soundwave can _have_ the leadership if I can stay with the sparklings." Starscream said, still holding out his dripping wrist. It was already beginning to self-repair, she noticed, and she nodded, sighing silently through her vents.

"Ratchet, you and Red Alert can stand as witnesses. Com me the wording," she said, raising her wrist to her mouth, and biting on a line.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

'_He will notice us soon.' _Optimus commed_. 'Sit on the floor legs out, we should seem less of a threat that way.' _They all did as quietly as possible, no-one needed telling to be as quiet as they could.

It was Optimus' own sparkling, one of the two bouncing on Thundercracker's canopy, who spotted them first.

"_Mummy!" _she squealed, running over, Thundercracker's optics opening as she jumped in Optimus' arms. He held her close.

"Creator." he corrected. "You've been around humans recently, haven't you, you are even learning their expressions." His words seemed stern, but were spoken with affection.

"Technically it should be_ 'Daddy'_. 'Mummy' is the human-youngling word for femme-creator." said the Earth-wise Hound.

By now, Thundercracker was sitting upright, having carefully displaced the youngling on his canopy and hand, but trying not to displace the one recharging on his leg. He seemed uncertain, looking at the others warily, but noting that Optimus' youngling seemed happy and safe held in Optimus' big hands.

Optimus quickly commed Ratchet, requesting an update on the situation. Having received it, Optimus nodded, raised his wrist to his mouth and bit down, extending the joint with energon beginning to run from it to Thundercracker.

"Seeker Thundercracker, I charge you with the protection of these sparklings, both my own and those with them. If you accept the position of Protector of the young, then we will seal our bond by mixing your energon with mine. This duty would be shared with your wing-brothers Skywarp and Starscream." he intoned. "Prowl and Mirage can stand as witnesses."

Staring with wide, hopeful optics, Thundercracker raised his own wrist to his mouth, drew energon, and pressed his wrist against Optimus' own.


	5. Chapter 5

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Five.

Several Months Later.

Elita was manning the gatehouse when the Autobots returned from their latest battle, carrying with them a seriously injured Seeker: injured severely enough to need substantial repairs to his back and wings, but not so injured, it appeared, that it did not protest and swear at the mechs holding him.

She opened the gates and watched as the swearing Seeker - she thought it was the one designated Thrust - was borne into the Base. It was Ratchet who turned to him and said "For the love of Primus! Anyone would think you were going to be tortured, not repaired! Shut the Pit up and let me repair you! If you want to leave after that, then you can, but not before!"

Thrust's response made Bumblebee make a querying noise and look to Ratchet curiously.

"Language, Thrust!" Ratchet snapped. Then he looked at Bumblebee.

"No, I will _not_ tell you what that means, so don't even _think_ of asking," he told the scout who subsided, arms and door wings drooping in disappointment.

When Ratchet got Thrust into his med bay, he lay him on his front, at first not questioning why the Decepticon suddenly ceased to struggle, nor noticing his fixed stare at a certain area within the medbay. It was only as he damped down the wing area and began to tidy up the tattered remnants of the Seeker's wings that Ratchet noticed the tilt of Thrust's head and looked in the direction of his stare.

One of the newer sparklings had woken, rolled on its side, and was peering through the plastic wall of it's cot-berth at the medic and his patient, one little hand gripping the top to keep it on its side. Looking back at his quiescent patient, Ratchet saw the Seeker had torn his optics from the sight of the sparkling, and was looking at him pleadingly.

"Can I hold it? Please?" Thrust asked as he saw Ratchet was looking back at him.

"I don't see why not, - but only once I've fixed you, so you lie right back down!" Ratchet said, pushing down on Thrust's shoulder vent, for at the first part of Ratchet's reply, the Seeker had begun to scramble to his feet eagerly.

Thrust did comply, and managed to lie relatively still for the rest of Ratchet's ministrations, only an occasional twitch belying his impatience.

The moment Ratchet said "Okay, you're fixed," Thrust rolled to a seated position and held out his arms expectantly: Ratchet went over to the sparkling and picked it up. It cooed at him, but stopped when Ratchet put it in Thrust's waiting hands.

"It's okay, he won't hurt you." Ratchet said confidently. Thrust looked at the small mech he held, and abruptly tipped it onto its back, running tickling fingers up and down its abdomen. The sparkling stuttered and clicked in laughter, kicking and wriggling. Thrust's face was alight, a rare smile on his face as he played with the sparkling.

"Thrust?" Ratchet called to get the Seeker's attention. He had to call three more times before the Seeker looked up.

"Yes?" he said, then indicated the sparkling he was holding. "I think he may be hungry. Can I feed him?"

Ratchet knew by now from Starscream and his trine's uncanny knack, that Seekers seemed to be able to pinpoint a sparkling's need before it got to the stage where the sparkling would cry for it, so he did not query Thrust's statement, but got him a formula bottle from the fridge and opened it, handing it to the Seeker.

Thrust began feeding the sparkling, which suckled eagerly. It was only halfway done before Ratchet called to the Seeker again.

"Yes?" Thrust said.

"You may recall that when I brought you in, I said that when you were repaired, you could go." Ratchet reminded him.

Thrust's face seemed to crumple and his wings drooped.

"I…I'll finish feeding this one, and then I'll…I'll leave." he stammered. Ratchet realised that Thrust had taken his words the wrong way, as an order, not an offer, and rushed to rectify the situation.

"No, Thrust, you don't _have_ to. Let me put it another way: your repairs are finished but you are not our prisoner. If you _want_ to leave, you can, but if you want to _stay_, you are equally welcome to do so."

Thrust's wings twitched back upwards and he raised his face from the looking-away posture he'd assumed.

"I…I can?" he asked, his voice sounding hopeful, his optics wide and pleading.

"Yes, but you must promise not to betray our trust. Looking after the sparklings for us comes with a promise that you will not betray us or help the other Decepticons break into our base," Ratchet said.

"Sparklings?" asked Thrust, immediately seizing on the plural. "How many do you have?"

"Last count, thirty-seven and we have three more expecting," Ratchet told him.

"Thirty-seven…how do you look after them all?" Thrust asked. Ratchet grinned.

"We pulled nursery-shifts. Then Starscream and his trine showed up unexpectedly one day. Now, we still pull nursery-shifts, but the Command Trine insist on doing most of them," Ratchet explained.

"So…when your carriers give Spark, there'll be forty, between three Seekers and your Autobots, alongside their normal duties?" asked Thrust. Ratchet nodded.

"We split them into three roughly equal-sized groups." Ratchet said. "With the new ones, two groups will end up with thirteen, the third with fourteen in their group."

"Wouldn't it be easier if another were available? Then you could have four groups of ten," Thrust said. Smiling, Ratchet nodded once more.

"Yes, Thrust, that would be good for all of us, but be aware, there is the oath and energon-promise to be taken."

Thrust's response was to bite open a minor line and extend his wrist, all without disturbing the now-slumbering sparkling in his other arm.

"So?" he said. "That is only to be expected. I'm staying. Count me in."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

A few minutes later, once the witnesses had been assembled, Thrust took the oath and then went back to stroking his little charge. Ratchet took time to enquire if there were any further injuries for him to repair, but it turned out that any injuries were minor and already self-repairing.

Ratchet found he was tired, and could see that Thrust was happy enough with what he was doing. He told the Seeker that there was an energon dispenser around the corner, and announced his intention to recharge for a few hours.

"If I'm needed, turn the dual to zero to rouse me," he said. "I think I can trust you to keep an eye on the sparklings and the medbay for a few hours?"

Ratchet went off into recharge, not realising that he had made a decision he would regret upon waking up.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

He woke, and the first thing he noticed was that all four sparkling-cots in the medbay were empty. The second was that three more empty feeding-receptacles had joined the first: it seemed Thrust had fed the other three sparklings currently in the medbay: all winglets, the recently-sparked offspring of the Command trine. The third was that although he could hear Thrust murmuring, and the occasional giggle and splash from behind the partition, he could not see either Thrust or the sparklings.

He headed for the partition, but when one of his feet encountered a slippery wetness, he looked down, and his Spark flickered in sudden dread.

The pink puddle he had just trodden in was unmistakably energon.

Ratchet's processors whirled at what this could mean. Seekers were sparkling-protective, they wouldn't harm them, surely their programming would preclude that? A nasty little thought popped up in Ratchet's processors: _'They might if they have been grounded long enough to go insane.' _

Ratchet had no idea of Thrust's possible mental state, but he cursed himself for not thinking to check. Seekers could be notoriously unstable, and it was something he should have thought of, something he should have considered, checked for with all the Seekers. What if he had been lucky with the Command Trine only to have been complacent about the Conehead Seeker? As he rounded the corner, he saw a sight that made his Spark gutter with dread and fear.

Thrust was sat in the middle of a pink pool of energon, with rivulets and splashes of the sticky pink fluid all over his body. There was no sign of the Command Trine's winglets. Thrust's arms were raised, and clutched in his hands was a small silver form, dripping with and covered in energon.

As Ratchet watched, Thrust opened his mouth to catch some of the drips falling from the sparkling he held aloft, and laughed out loud.


	6. Chapter 6

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Six.

Ratchet found himself unable to move, transfixed by the sight in front of him. He watched as Thrust lowered the sparkling until she was directly above his mouth, and flicked his glossa over her to clean off some of the energon.

Then the sparkling wriggled - and _laughed._

The sound startled Ratchet out of his frozen state, but still he did not move. The sparkling was still alive, but Ratchet feared that could change if he startled the clearly insane Seeker. He had to work out a way to get the remaining sparkling to safety, but how? Even if he called in Skywarp, there was no guarantee the other Seeker could take the little femme to safety, especially if Thrust had a firm grip on her.

As Thrust continued to lick the sparkling clean, Ratchet's practiced medic's optics scanned her body, and that's when he realised that despite the large volume of energon in evidence, not only did the sparkling Thrust was holding appeared to be uninjured, but there was no sign that the other three had even been there. No fragments of limbs or armour, no wires or shredded metal. He was missing something somewhere. Taking the risk of scanning the almost-clean sparkling, who clicked and whirred as Thrust turned her to clean her other side, Ratchet found no sign of damage or injury.

It was at this point that the Seeker spotted the medic, turning his head to look at him. Ratchet smiled in a reassuring way, holding out his arms.

"Don't you think it's time the little one got some recharge?" he asked, hoping he would not be provoking the Seeker to violence.

"Um - Ratchet, hi, sorry about the mess." Thrust said, shifting the sparkling to a shoulder as he slid back along the floor to a drier bit. It was then that Ratchet saw what the Seeker's body had been obscuring - the energon dispenser on the floor, its thick glass cracked right the way around.

Abruptly all the evidence pointed to a far less sinister sequence of events. Ratchet stooped, and dipped a finger in the energon, licking it. His glossa's sensors confirmed that it was pure distilled energon, not the diluted stuff that comprised a mech's circulatory fluid. Although none of this explained the missing winglets, Thrust's mental state was no longer so suspect, so Ratchet felt it was safe to ask Thrust about them.

"Thrust, where are the three winglets that were in the cots earlier? Firefly, Pulsar and Lightning?" he asked.

"Oh, the Command Trine came by and said they were taking them up for a flight," Thrust said as he finished licking the sparkling clean. "They'll probably be back soon."

Ratchet gestured at the dispenser.

"What happened here?"

"I misjudged the clearance of my wing while swinging away and it caught the dispenser. It fell before I could catch it." he said. "As I bent to check the damage, this little one wriggled out of my arm and started rolling about in the mess. She wanted to play and I saw no harm in it." He looked over as the sparkling wriggled in his grip again. "She certainly doesn't _look_ ready to recharge."

"That should have been securely hooked to the wall," Ratchet said. "It's removeable so they can be filled and exchanged. I guess I need to devise a more secure method of fastening them."

At that moment, the three Seekers of the Command Trine entered, each carrying their own sparkling in their hands, cooing to them and nuzzling them. They stopped short when they saw Thrust, who had got to his feet and was carefully stepping out of the pool of energon. Ratchet got the special suction device designed for such spills out and began cleaning up the spillage. He could not leave energon lying around, it was corrosive to humans and slippery for everybody!

Thrust wandered over to Starscream, pausing to stroke his sparkling, explaining to him what had happened: the other three Seekers nodded. Then Thrust turned once again to Ratchet.

"Can I take this one up for a flight? I won't take too long."

"Yes." said Ratchet, looking up from where he was finishing the cleaning job with a special sponge. "Prime might be interested to know if his sparkling is okay with flying and heights." he said distractedly. "Go ahead but be careful."

Thrust went out with the sparkling in his arms, explained to Ironhide at the gate that he was taking her for a flight, with permission from Ratchet.

"Like the Command Trine, I have taken the oath and sealed it with energon," he told the suspicious Autobot. "Check with Ratchet if you don't believe me."

Nodding, Ironhide dropped the forceful and opened the gate, allowing the Seeker to exit.

"You be careful with Terraprima." Ironhide cautioned him as he went out. "We're all fond of her."

Thrust stepped out, cradling the precious femme sparkling carefully, holding her to his canopy as he leaped into the air and began to fly. He flew up high before changing course. He knew that neither Ironhide nor Ratchet would have let him out if they knew what he was planning, but he wouldn't let the sparkling come to harm.

However, he could not hold out on his wingbrothers.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Thrust landed lightly outside the Decepticon Base, and headed for the gate. A quick com ascertained that Barricade was on gate duty, and Barricade let him in, looking with unreserved curiosity at the little femme who had gone to sleep in the crook of Thrust's arm.

"Good to see you back, Thrust. Your wingbrothers have been fretting, you should go and tell them you are well. Where did you get the sparkling?"

"This little femme is the offspring of Optimus Prime. She's called Terraprima. Isn't she cute?"

Barricade grinned, flexing his clawed fingers in anticipation.

"Well done, Thrust, give her to me and I'll take her to Soundwave. She will provide excellent leverage against the Autobots, especially if we make her…uncomfortable…while she is on-screen." He reached out his hands, flexing his fingers again, his eyes glinting with malice.

Thrust moved so suddenly that it was with some surprise that Barricade felt a hand grab him around the neck, and felt his feet leave the ground as the Seeker hoisted him and shoved him up against a wall, his feet flailing twenty feet above the ground. He looked down at Thrust's face, and the fury in the Seeker's optics generated a feeling Barricade had felt only rarely.

Fear.

"Touch this sparkling, Barricade, and I will let you live only just long enough to regret it," Thrust said in a low, menacing tone of voice. "I will protect this sparkling with my own life if need be, and do not think this is an idle threat: I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

Barricade felt the hand release him, and he dropped to the floor, staring up at Thrust in shock. Thrust had not finished, however: when he knew he had Barricade's attention, he continued to speak.

"If anything you tell anyone else, or anything you do brings the threat of danger to this sparkling, you and I will take a flight over the deepest part of the geological formation the fleshling natives call the 'Grand Canyon.'" He paused. "For you, such a journey will be strictly one-way. Have I made myself quite clear, Barricade?"

"Affirmative." Barricade answered, still staring at Thrust.

Apparently satisfied, Thrust walked off. Barricade began to compose a com to Soundwave, but then remembered Thrust's threat, and deleted it.

Soundwave did not need to know about this _just _yet, did he?

oOo oOO oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Thrust reflected later that he was probably just unlucky. He had guessed that the passageway to his and his wing brother's quarters would not be clear, but he managed to traverse the corridor with less resistance than he anticipated, as people looked up and scooted to one side or the other. He briefly wondered if something about his optics or stride was telling the others to get out of his way, but did not question it further.

He didn't think to look at where the other mechs' optics fell, or he might have noticed that they were focused not on _him_, but ten feet behind him. He was totally unaware of the other until he was just ten feet from his wing brothers' door, which was when the other spoke.

"Thrust-returned. Sparkling:show."

He would know that voice anywhere, it was unique. It also belonged to the only mech who could read his mind and know what he carried in his arm before he turned to face him. He hoped it would not come down to battle, because with a sparkling in his arms, he would be hampered, both by movement and by trying to keep the sparkling from harm.

Even so unencumbered, Thrust knew that he'd be hard-pressed in a fight against Soundwave.


	7. Chapter 7

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Seven.

It had been pure luck that Soundwave had been returning from a lubrication break when he had seen Thrust heading down the corridor, his stride purposeful and with something cradled in his arm. Silently moving in beg-hind the Seeker, who had last been seen being captured by the Autobots, Soundwave gently brushed the surface thoughts of Thrust's mind, only dipping briefly and undetectably into deeper thoughts when the need to know more arose. Within seconds he knew what had happened, where Thrust was headed, and what he held in his arms.

He followed the Seeker, wondering how to handle this situation. Soundwave knew about the Seeker protective-programming, knew that if he made any threatening moves, Thrust would likely stop only to put the sparkling in a safe place before unleashing a berserker rage upon him. Soundwave was confident that he could defeat Thrust, even if the latter was in a berserk state, but he had no doubts that Thrust would injure him severely in the process.

This was assuming that Thrust did not call his wingbrothers, who would also go berserk at sight of the sparkling. One berserk Seeker, Soundwave could probably despatch, but not without injury to himself. Three could spell his death.

Despite which, even killing _one_ Seeker would be a deplorable waste.

As he saw Thrust approach his wingbrothers' quarters, he knew he needed to act, and the first thing he needed to do was let Thrust know he was there, and that was easy. He needed only to speak.

"Thrust-returned. Sparkling-see."

As Thrust turned towards him, Soundwave saw uncertainty and wariness in the Seeker's features. The Seeker stood for a few seconds, the sleeping sparkling clearly visible in the crook of his arm, then dropped to one knee in a gesture of apparent subservience.

Soundwave knew Seekers well enough to know that they did not kneel without good reason, and he could see Thrust's gesture was a tactical one: if need be, Thrust could put the sparkling on the ground behind him and then leap upwards in an offensive move. People underestimated Seekers on the ground, considering a Seeker had to push themselves into the air in robot form with those legs, they were stronger and more powerful than they looked. More than one enemy had discovered this to their cost. Although not so good on the ground when fighting, Seekers were not _totally_ defenceless out of the sky.

"Leader Soundwave, I only brought the sparkling to show my wingbrothers. I have been charged with its care and could not leave it behind, but I am also charged to protect it."

Soundwave nodded, receiving the unspoken message contained within that statement: Thrust was prepared to fight for the sparkling to return to its Creator. As a Creator himself, it was a sentiment he approved of and fully understood

Soundwave didn't respond at first, not with words, although he did run a brief scan of the sparkling.

"Young-femme, bright-of-Spark. Allspark-gone, sparklings-needed. Soundwave-not-wage-war-on-sparklings."

Thrust's vent-sigh would have been audible even if Soundwave didn't have ultra-sensitive hearing: he stood.

"Thank you, wise Leader," he said.

"Soundwave-go. Thrust-see-wing-brothers-then-go. Soundwave-not-stop-nor-aid-departure."

Soundwave continued back to the main control room, knowing that when Thrust left, his wing brothers would go with him. Letting the three Seekers go was a small price for the information Thrust had provided, both what he had shown and told Soundwave, and what Soundwave had gleaned from his mind.

Firstly, he now knew where the Command Trine, who had disappeared without a trace one day and had refused to answer his hails since, had gone. He suspected that they, like Thrust, had only needed to _see_ a sparkling to be compelled to look after it, and it was easy to see why they might have chosen to stay. He had not seen them in any of the skirmishes the Autobots and Decepticons had engaged in since their disappearance, and assumed their loyalty was not to either the Autobots or the Decepticons, but only to the sparklings.

Secondly, there was the sparkling herself, which he had found from Thrust's mind was Optimus Prime's own femme creation. The last of the AllSpark-generated sparklings created on Cybertron would now be sub-adult or adult Sparks, likely in adult bodies. Their Spark-frequencies would have been fixed for a long time by now. Soundwave's scans had shown him that the Spark-frequency of the femme Thrust had been holding was still fluctuating, was not yet fixed, meaning that said sparkling had been sparked no more than ten orns ago. This told Soundwave that either the AllSpark fragment was not as inert as it looked, or that Autobot femmes, able to bear sparklings, had arrived.

The question Soundwave needed to ask as how could this information help them, and what could he do with it to best advantage?

Turning this question over in his processors, Soundwave returned to the control room.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Thrust stepped into the quarters he shared with his wing brothers quietly. His wing brothers were lying together on one of the berths in a tangle of wings, arms, and legs, and two empty cubes of energon suggested they had gotten overenegised.

He moved over and shook first Ramjet and then Dirge awake. They looked up with bleary optics.

"Th-Thrust? You're okay? You're back!" Ramjet said, throwing his arms around his wingmate in relief. Dirge reached up to pull Thrust down onto the berth, where he could better see him, and stopped as his searching hand came down on a small body. As the sparkling was jolted out of recharge, she gave a loud squeak of surprise.

The two other Seekers briefly froze. Then Dirge sat fully upright as Ramjet released his hold on Thrust, and looked down at the little femme. Two sets of red optics zoomed in on the sparkling during a moment of almost-silence, broken only by the sparkling, who, unnerved by the silence, whimpered.

Ramjet immediately raised a hand to stroke her.

"It's okay, little one, you'll be safe with us," he cooed, pulling his hand back as Dirge delicately scooped her from Thrust's arm with gentle hands and lifted her to his face, nuzzling her with one cheek.

"Where did you find her, Thrust?" Ramjet asked.

"After I fell from the sky, their medic took me back for repairs," he said, turning briefly to show them his newly repaired wings, still shiny silver in places. "While there, I saw this one. And that's not all I saw! The Command Trine are there, they are looking after the Autobot's sparklings. With the Command Trine's own three, and the three carriers waiting to give Spark, there's going to be_ forty_ sparklings at the Autobot base soon. I took the protector's oath and made the bond too, so I'm going to have to take Terraprima back soon, but I had to bring her to show you and explain my decision to you.

"Terraprima?" asked Dirge, breaking off from blowing raspberries on the femme's abdomen, making her stutter with laughter. "Prime's creation?" he guessed.

"Yes," Thrust confirmed.

"With the AllSpark gone, that must mean there are femmes at the Autobot Base," Ramjet mused. "Forty sparklings are a lot for just four people to look after, and I'm not staying here as part of an incomplete trine. I'm coming with you. Dirge, what are you going to do?"

"Forty sparklings, you say?" he replied. "Forty tiny ones to look after and protect? You need to ask? What concerns me at the moment is getting this little one away." He lifted the giggling sparkling for emphasis. "How you managed to get here unchallenged with her, I don't know, you must have been incredibly lucky, but I would not like to risk us having to fight our way back out, not with this one at risk of being hurt in the process."

Thrust decided not to mention his encounter with Soundwave at this time, but he had already had an idea about the sparkling.

"I have an idea," he said, looking from one wing brother to the other. "We get the sparkling out separately, by a different route. Let me make a call."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The three walked out of their quarters, having taken what little they wanted to keep and put it in their subspace. Their polishing kits were a must, as were various spare essential parts and pieces they had scrounged just in case, and tins of paint for their fuselage and wings. They had nothing else of value, all their personal effects were comprised of holograms of friends and long-dead family, and these were stored in their processors.

They got some odd looks, for some of those Thrust had passed on the way in had seen the sparkling, and to them its absence raised questions. Others who had not seen the sparkling wondered at the way the Seekers walked as a tightly-packed arrowhead, Ramjet at the tip, the other two wingtip-to-wingtip behind. No-one felt inclined to stop them or get in their way, plus there was no reason to do either.

Once they got to the doorway they took flight, with no goodbyes and no ceremony. Barricade commed Soundwave to tell him the Seekers had come with Optimus Prime's sparkling, threatened him, and then left two breems later. Soundwave acknowledged his call, and thanked Barricade.

As Soundwave watched them leave on the control room monitor, he idly wondered just what they had done with the sparkling.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Thrust landed first, followed by his wing brothers, and he commed the gatehouse to let down the force-field and let them in. As the gates swung open, Ironhide walked out, arms half-raised and his cannons whining. He did not look happy. Startled, Thrust took a step back as Ironhide pointed one of his cannons at Thrust.

"You left with a sparkling, with Terraprima. You have met with your wingbrothers, yet you dare to return without Terraprima? What has happened to her? Why have you left her? Where is she?" The Autobot weapons specialist looked furious, and Thrust raised his hands to his chest.

"I found myself in a situation where carrying her about myself might dangerous, so I contacted Skywarp and asked him to warp her straight back here. Ask him if you don't believe me!" he said, panicked.

"Skywarp left about six breems ago and hasn't been back." Ironhide said. "I will call him."

Ironhide's optics dimmed and then brightened again. He lowered his cannons and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a bang of displaced air as Skywarp, bearing a clicking, cooing sparkling, popped into existence ten feet above them. He gently descended, landing so gently that the sparkling wasn't jolted at all.

"Sorry about that, but as soon as I got her here, she seemed to enjoy flying so much I took her up for a bit longer." He handed her back to Thrust reluctantly. The Conehead tickled her, then held her up for Ironhide to see.

"Here she is, and as you can see, there's not a scratch on her. My wingbrothers have asked if they can come and help look after sparklings as well."

Ironhide put his weapons away as he peered at the little femme, who was bouncing up and down in Thrust's hands excitedly.

"In that case, you'd better all come in, "he said, gesturing with one hand as he stood aside.

Thrust beckoned his wingbrothers, and took them down to the medbay.

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Soundwave had come to a decision. It would take some time, and would require quite some planning, and due to the sparklings and their effect on Seekers, he could not involve the Rainmaker Trine, or any of the other two trines he had on-base. Instead, his own offspring would serve.

Calling out Laserbeak and Ravage, he gave them very specific instructions.

"Locate-and-identify-Autobot-femmes. Then-report-to-me. Await-instructions."

He paused, then sent a com.

"Barricade: clear-the-Conehead's-old room. Alter-lock-to-open-from-outside-only. Prepare-it-for-femme-guest."


	8. Chapter 8

Protectors Of The Young.

Chapter Eight.

Ravage and Laserbeak headed for the Autobot Base and were joined on the way by Bombshell. The little Insecticon chirped a welcome and flew with Laserbeak, settling on Laserbeak's neck as the three approached the Base. It was early morning, and Ravage found a shadow to lurk in, while Laserbeak settled for a slightly more distant perch, in a big tree sufficiently large enough for him to settle himself in. As arranged, they sat and did something they were all very good at. They waited.

Dawn rose, prompting Ravage to move further into the shadow of his rock, while Laserbeak stayed dead still, the foliage of his chosen tree concealing him beautifully. Watching the world awaken around them, they focused intently, eyeing the barely-visible shimmer that marked the presence of the Autobot Base's force-field. If and when it came down, they would move.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ironhide was on the gate, and as he had been told, the Lambo Twins were out on early patrol that morning, punishment for a prank Prowl had caught them in the middle of committing. Luckily it was only food-colouring they had used, and although it looked unusual, bottle-green energon tasted the same as the regular stuff.

Ironhide saw them approaching and nodded. "You two should try not to antagonise Prowl," the Weapons Specialist suggested to the red and yellow Lamborghinis. The yellow one only answered with a snort, but the red spoke back.

"Nah, baiting Prowl is _way_ too much fun," he said. This time it was Ironhide's turn to snort.

"Well, if you ask me, Prowl has too much fun thinking up punishments for you two." he said. "I'm dropping the force-field and opening the gates. Stand by."

The two sports cars revved their engines while waiting to go, and as the force-field shimmered out, the two alt-forms jumped forwards.

At the same time, there was movement from the right, and the yellow Lamborghini spotted Ravage headed their way.

"Sideswipe!" shouted the yellow Twin as Ravage jumped over him, and Sideswipe tried to dodge the black cat-mech and failed. A terrible screeching noise sounded as Ravage landed on the hood of the red mech, his claws digging in as he slid, red paint and silver hide curling up from under his claws.

Both Autobots began to transform, and it was at that point that Laserbeak burst from cover, flying in over the Base wall, for Ironhide had not yet got the force-field back on. As Laserbeak glided into the Base and down the corridor, Ironhide commed an alarm as he ran to help Sideswipe, grabbing the cat-mech Ravage by his neck and leg and lifting and throwing him off Sideswipe. The agile Cassette landed and had sprung to a new location by the time Ironhide had brought his cannons to bear. Again he commed the Base.

"Mirage, get help and locate and eject Laserbeak before he causes trouble. Hound, get out here and help us chase off Ravage. Starscream, Seekers, guard your charges." he stated.

Five minutes later, Ravage had been chased off, and Mirage and Cliffjumper got a struggling Laserbeak out of the base, throwing him out as Ironhide raised the force-field.

Laserbeak circled twice and cawed before disappearing, and Ironhide sat back with a feeling of satisfaction. Once again, the Decepticons had been incredibly predictable. They had tried to create a diversion with Ravage to get Laserbeak into the Base unnoticed. The Autobots had dealt with both the diversionary Cassette, and the attempted infiltrator.

Ironhide would have been a lot less smug and confident if he had realised how wrong he was. Both of the invaders had been_ expecting_ to be repelled, that had all been part of the plan. The real infiltrator had been carried on Laserbeak's neck, out of sight, and was now hiding in the ventilation ducts.

Bombshell was in the Autobot Base, undetected and unsuspected.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Again, Bombshell waited before moving too much, and he kept to the ventilation ducts and ceiling crawlspaces. He quickly gained the information he sought: the Autobots had six femmes with them, and Bombshell watched each one for a time before making his move. He also waited until five of the six Seekers on sparkling-duty were recharging with their small wards. He made his choice based on available information relating to maximum leverage, although Soundwave had said he hoped the leverage was not needed.

As Elita-One recharged, Bombshell slipped out of the ventilation-duct in her room and swooped towards her. He fired off a cerebro-shell, which easily hit her just above the optics, in the middle of her forehead. For a moment nothing happened, then she unshuttered her optics.

She rose, her optics blank as Bombshell headed for her neck and crouched down.

"Autobot slave, you will follow my orders. Do not speak to me or reply to anything I say unless I say so. Walk towards the exit of your Base. Try not to arouse suspicion, but if anyone suspects, stun them."

Elita made no sound of reply, but her hand moved to take one of her blasters from its holster.

Tucking the blaster under an arm, she headed for the Base exit.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Ironhide looked up as Elita came out. He was surprised, for the femmes usually went with a mech, and usually at times when prying optics would not easily discern that they themselves were not mechs. Usually the femmes exited in an alt closely resembling that of a known mech, not in bipedal mode as she was. She walked towards him, arms folded across her chest.

"Elita?" he queried. There was a pause before she replied.

"Ironhide." she acknowledged. "Open the gates. I wish to go out and feel the sunlight upon my hide."

"Are you sure, Elita? What if you are sighted?"

"I will not be. I wish to go out." she said. Once again, there was that odd pause before she spoke, but Ironhide dismissed it. If he remained indoors as much as the femmes did, he'd go crazy. He supposed Elita was feeling penned in.

"Okay, but I'll stay here and watch you, okay?"

"Yes." she agreed.

Ironhide turned to his panel, and opened the gates, and dropped the force-field.

Elita headed for the exit, and as she got outside, Ironhide spotted a dark shape on Elita's neck.

"Elita, your neck, there's something there!" he said in alarm. His optics zoomed in on it as she turned to face him, and he recognised what it was.

"Insecticon! Elita, watch out!" he cried in warning. As his optics refocused, he found himself staring at Elita's gun barrel. As he watched, she fired, and things went black.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

She lowered her gun as Bombshell sent a com on a specific frequency.

"Acid Rain, target acquired, environment safe, come and pick up the cargo."

When he told Acid Rain the environment was safe, he was not only conforming there were no armed Autobots in range. What Acid Rain did not know was that it also meant that no Sparklings were present. Soundwave did not intend to lose the few Seekers he had left.

For a few moments, Elita waited, then as engines sounded, she looked to the skies and raised her arms.

Acid Rain, in bipedal form, swooped down, his own arms outstretched. Elita leaped, and her arms caught his as he grasped her shoulders. He pulled her against him, swiftly adjusting his grip to hold her close in a secure grip. Bombshell sent her an instruction to stay as she was, then flew from her neck to fly alongside Acid Storm. He sent Soundwave a com.

"Bombshell to Soundwave, mission accomplished, we are returning to Base."

Looking at Elita's blank face, Acid Storm looked briefly at Bombshell.

"Well done." he told him. "Soundwave will be well pleased with this catch."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOooOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When they landed, Acid Storm, following instructions from Soundwave, took Elita to the Conehead's old quarters. Although under Bombshell's instruction she could walk, he carried her, to make it clear to those he passed that she was a prisoner and not a trespasser. He did not want her harmed or killed by some trigger-happy fighter with more ammunition than processor power.

It was odd to see how the inside of the Conehead's quarters had changed, for Acid Rain had visited the three Coneheads on more than one occasion during their tenure. Gone were the small knick-knacks one of them - Dirge, as he recalled - had been fond of collecting - small stones, odd pieces of technology. The paint they had kept and their polishing supplies were gone, and the room looked bare and too large for the quiescent femme he held. The large surface the three Seekers had shared had been removed and replaced with a flimsy wooden table, upon which stood two cubes of energon.

He sat Elita on the edge of the large berth that had been left for her, and frisked her for weapons, removing those he could and carefully disarming any built-in weaponry. Opening her abdominal armour he disconnected her comm equipment in three places, to ensure she couldn't even receive or send any messages in ancient Earth Morse code. He picked up one of the cubes of energon and offered it to her. She made no move until Bombshell, who had landed on one of Acid Storm's shoulders, spoke to her.

"Drink that, Autobot slave." he ordered, and she did so, moving jerkily as if she were a mere drone.

"Soundwave says that we now need to back off and you should release her from your control only once the door is locked." Acid Storm said, taking the empty cube from her and walking towards the door. "Soundwave said he'll come along to speak to her once she's had time to vent her fury and realise she has no method of escape."

They both exited, and Acid Storm noticed the extra thickness of the wall that indicated soundproofing measures had been taken and nodded approvingly.

They exited, and locked the door and at a nod from Acid Storm, Bombshell sent the cerebro-shell a command that caused it to burn out and release its control on the Autobot femme. For a moment they heard nothing, but then they could hear, faintly, the femme shouting.

They left, moving on to carry out their other duties.

She was now the sole responsibility of Soundwave.


	9. Chapter 9

Protectors of The Young.

Chapter Nine.

The moment the cerebro-shell's control on her was broken, Elita charged at the door. As she suspected, she found it locked, but that did not stop her from throwing herself at it and hammering on it.

"Decepticon scum, fight fair!" she raged. "Show yourselves, release me and fight me on equal terms, you spineless, glitched cowards!"

None of her shouts or attempts to attract attention succeeded, and she strode back to the berth and sat down. Although she had been aware but powerless under the influence of the cerebro-shell, she still looked to see if any of her weapons had been missed, overlooked or were re-connectable. Although she did the same with her communications systems, her captors had been thorough: she had been left nothing she could use to either attack her captors, effect an escape from the locked room she was in, or call for aid.

She then examined her surroundings. Nothing of the sparse furnishings could be used as a weapon or to help her escape, although she had to admit that considering she was a Decepticon prisoner, her accommodation could have been much worse. There was a very large berth available, although the fact it was big enough for at least two large mechs to be comfortable on made her worry about why she was here.

With the AllSpark gone, mech-femme Sparkmerge was the only method of reproduction left to their kind. Femmes had been in short supply from the beginning, and could now be a new source of conflict if the Decepticons found out about those in the Autobot ranks, which was one reason said femmes had gone to such pains to avoid being seen. However, her very presence here meant they already knew about her, at least.

Forced interface was a great taboo in Cybertronian culture, but who knew what values the Decepticons might discard if they thought they might be staring extinction in the face. Elita and her sisters had harboured the same fear about the Autobots when they discovered about the AllSpark, and had been relieved that not only had the Autobots decided not to discard their values, but had worked with the femmes to give the femmes time, choice, and the option to bear sparklings or not as they wished. Once that fear had been laid to rest, they had been happy to begin bearing.

She sat down on the berth, and took the cube of energon left on the flimsy table nearby and began to sip at it after scanning it to be certain it was not toxic, or drugged. She had been in worse prisons, she reflected, with her arms and legs chained to the wall and floor, with little light, no fuel and only the promise of brutal treatment. There were no chains here, and her surroundings were actually quite comfortable by comparison but it was, after all, still a prison cell, albeit a fairly palatial one. Even so, she was still held against her will by an enemy, and her treatment once the enemy's representative turned up, was by no means certain.

However, as she had already discovered there was little else she could do about it, all she could do was wait until whoever was sent turned up.

She flexed her cables and servos carefully as she deliberately struck a relaxed pose, for in her visual sweep of the room she had spotted a concealed camera.

She would wait, and be ready for them.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Soundwave observed the femme via the camera, noting that she had calmed down but that she was ready to react. He nodded and rose.

"Soundwave-will-speak-to-femme."

He exited the room without a further word.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

When Elita heard the door open, she launched herself forward, hoping to catch her visitor by surprise, but he was just beyond the door, crouching slightly, filling the exit and obviously anticipating this attempt. With one hand, Soundwave caught a wrist, and used his other arm to pin her against him. She shouted wordlessly as she tried to pull away and escape around him, but as he straightened his legs she felt her own feet leave the floor.

She kicked and struggled, but found she was no match for the powerful mech, who advanced into the room, sent a com to lock the door, and headed for the berth with her.

'_This is it,' _the thought ran through her processors. She knew if Soundwave wished to force her he had the size and strength to do so, but that would not stop her from fighting.

As he reached the berth he released her, pushing her away so she landed in a sitting position on the berth but he did not, as she expected him to, bend to grab her or lunge for her. Instead he spoke.

"Soundwave-would-not-force-Elita. Soundwave-wishes-to-talk."

Elita blinked in surprise, but then remembered she had been told that Soundwave could read minds, and in her panicked state her thoughts must have been very clear.

"Talk?" she asked him. "You went through all of this just so we could _talk_? Why didn't you use the comm system?"

"To-talk-as-Creator-to-Creator." He opened his chest compartment and drew out Ratbat, who clicked and wriggled as Soundwave gently touched the Cassette's back and wings. "Soundwave-has-complete-control. Soundwave-will-not-abuse-it."

"All this was to show me that you could do anything to me, but choose not to?" she asked, beginning to see where Soundwave was coming from. He nodded.

"Using-power-easy. Not-using-power-takes-control."

"I guess that makes sense." she said. "What if I want to leave?"

"Elita-permitted-to-leave." he replied. "Elita-requested-to remain."

"What for?" she asked. "To be courted? To be shown off?"

"Negative." Soundwave replied. To-aid-negotiations."

"Negotiations for what?" she asked.

"For-peace." he replied. "For-peace-as-Creators, for-our-sparklings."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

The Autobots had been assessed of the situation and were about to head for the Decepticon base in force when Mirage announced an incoming communication from the Decepticon base.

"Put them on screen." Optimus said.

The screen showed Soundwave and Elita standing side-by-side. Soundwave was holding Ratbat in his hands, and one of Elita's hands was resting lightly on Soundwave's arm.

"Optimus, it's me, Elita," she said. "I have been well-treated, I'm not being held against my will, and am returning soon. Soundwave asked if he could accompany me, with the intention of talking about peace."

"He wishes to talk peace? After abducting you?" Optimus rumbled, still annoyed.

"He did that so we could talk as creators, one to another, and not be burdened by faction loyalties, pride and posturing, and all the other things that make standard negotiations take hours." Elita explained. "He said that he is as concerned for his creations as we are for ours. He agrees that in war, the young are usually the first to come to harm after those on the front line, and he wants to protect his creations as much as we want to protect ours," she explained.

"AllSpark-gone. Cybertron-destroyed. Conclusion: war-now-pointless," Soundwave intoned.

Optimus said "How do we know you are not speaking under duress, Elita? How do we know you're not still under the influence of a cerebro-shell or some other method of control?"

Elita's optics flashed angrily.

"Optimus, if you want me to come in first and undergo a thorough scan, I will agree and I'm sure Soundwave will as well." she said. She sounded as annoyed as she looked "But remember this, Optimus: Soundwave, too, is a Creator. Do you really think he does not have the same feelings as we do? Do you think he cares nothing for the younglings under his care?"

"Soundwave-fears-for-all-young," the blue Decepticon said. "War-ours, not-our-youngling's."

"What Soundwave is trying to say, I believe, is this." Elita said. "Do you really want our sparklings growing up to do nothing but continue a war that began before they were even thought of? Because I don't, Optimus, I'm sure that Soundwave doesn't, and I don't think you do either. So how about you put your wounded ego aside and try and be sensible about this?" She looked pleadingly at him and stretched out her hand towards the camera. "You're letting your feelings rule over sense."

"She's right, you know." Ratchet said from beside him. "That is your femme who was taken, Optimus, the co-creator of your two femme sparklings. You are too involved to be in charge of these discussions." He pushed Optimus aside, turning to him and putting his hands on Optimus' shoulders. Optimus fought to twist away but Ratchet held him firmly.

"I'm the negotiator of our group, let me continue these discussions." Ratchet suggested. "How often have you told me that you just wish the Decepticons would consider peace? Now, when it's offered, you're about to turn it down? Is that the act of an objective commander, or an outraged partner?" He paused as Optimus looked away, back to the screen, and used one hand to turn Optimus' head to look back at him. "If you reject this peace outright, you could be potentially putting Elita back into a dangerous situation., She is still at the Decepticon base, and her privileged guest status could be revoked at any given moment."

"Negative." Soundwave stated, for the channel was still open. "Whatever-you-decide-Elita-goes-free. Soundwave-keeps-his-word."

That more than anything seemed to decide it for Optimus. His shoulders sagged, his battle-mask slid back, and he stopped pushing against Ratchet.

"Agreed. Ratchet, you take up this discussion, I trust you to do what you feel is right. Elita, I hope to see you soon." As he walked out, Ratchet shouted after him.

"Recharge, Optimus. Don't think I don't know how long it's been since your last one. I promise to wake you when Elita gets here but get some rest." He turned back to Soundwave and Elita.

"Now, what's in this for you if we make peace? I hardly think the peace alone can be the only incentive, at least not for the other Decepticons."

"Access-to-fuel." Soundwave stated. "Opportunity-to-court-femmes." Ratchet nodded.

"As long as the femmes agree, I don't see that being an issue." he said. "As for the fuel, we can give you access for a time, but you'll have to eventually negotiate with the humans, we can help you with that." he suggested.

"Agreed." Soundwave said. "ETA-your-base-six-hours-time. Preparation-needed-before-journey."

"Very well, Soundwave, we, too can use those six hours wisely, to prepare for your arrival." Ratchet said with a nod. "We will see you then, Elita and Soundwave.

As Ratchet closed the channel, he decided he would keep his word to Optimus to the letter. He would wake him when Elita arrived, but till then, he could spend the next six hours in recharge.


End file.
